Modi accused of flouting flag code

Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicked up a controversy after he autographed the Indian flag in New York to be gifted to President Barack Obama, evoking sharp reaction from the Opposition as well as the social media, a senior lawyer said signing on the national flag was a punishable offence but the law would not apply on foreign soil.

India completes acquisition of Ambedkar's house in London

India completed the acquisition of a 3.1 million pound three-storey house in London, where Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, architect of the Indian Constitution, lived as a student in the 1920s and steps will be initiated soon to convert it into a memorial.

Modi, Hasina review bilateral ties

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the progress in bilateral ties with Bangladeshi counterpart Sheikh Hasina and decided to speed up the implementation of the land boundary agreement. Mr. Modi will meet Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena on Friday and Bhutan Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay. 

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Vikas Swarup said both Prime Ministers expressed happiness at the smooth manner in which the land boundary agreement was concluded and took stock of the progress in the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar regional connectivity initiative. Bangladesh reiterated its support to India's claim for a permanent U.N. Security Council seat. Both countries also share the view that not only the U.N., but also other international institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF need to be reformed in order to accommodate the aspirations of the developing world.

Government plans green road corridors

Bushes and trees will be grown along all highways in phases

The Union government will unveil its Green Highways policy on September 29, Road Transport and Highways Secretary Vijay Chhibber said on Thursday.

Under it, bushes and trees will be grown along all the highways in a phased manner.

The investment in the project would be Rs. 1,000 crore this year, calculated as one per cent of the Rs. 1,00,000-crore investment in national highway projects in the year, Mr. Chhibber said. If Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari's plan for Rs. 5,00,000 crore of investment in highways in the next four years comes off, Rs. 5,000 crore will go to the Green Highways policy.

UN officially adopts ambitious new set of global goals

The United Nations officially adopted a new set of global goals on Friday to combat poverty, inequality and climate change over the next 15 years in the most comprehensive international effort ever to tackle the world's ills.

Pope Francis and leaders from more than 150 nations gathered at the United Nations to approve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that resulted from three years of brainstorming and negotiations in nearly every corner of the world.

The global goals are designed to provide a roadmap for countries to finance and shape government policies over the next 15 years with targets to be monitored and reviewed using a set of global indicators to be agreed by March 2016.

Bank of Maharashtra launches Mudra card

Bank of Maharashtra has launched 'Mudra card' for micro and small entrepreneurs to meet their credit requirement. The card was launched by S. Muhnot, CMD on the occasion of Bank's 81st Foundation Day Celebrations. Mudra card issued as a Rupay debit card is hassle free flexible credit product that meets working capital needs of micro and small entrepreneurs.

3 Indian-Americans named to advisory council by Obama

US President Barack Obama named three Indian Americans to an advisory council on faith-based and neighbourhood partnerships that brings together religious and secular leaders and experts in their fields.

Naming Preeta Bansal, Nipun Mehta and Jasjit Singh and 14 others Obama said: "I am confident that these outstanding men and women will serve the American people well, and I look forward to working with them."

The President's Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighbourhood Partnerships brings together religious and secular leaders as well as scholars and experts in fields related to the work of faith-based and neighbourhood organisations, the White House said in a statement.

World Bridge Teams championships from today

This is the first time India is hosting the event that will be played on a round-robin-cum-knockout format and will conclude on October 10.

The 42nd World Bridge Teams championships will get underway today with an opening ceremony in the city at the ITC Grand Chola hotel and matches featuring 66 teams participating across the three categories starting from Sunday.

This is the first time India is hosting the event that will be played on a round-robin-cum-knockout format and will conclude on October 10.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, N.R. Kirubakara Moorthy, president of Bridge Federation of India said that, “The main purpose of bringing this event to India is to popularise the sport.”

The three categories in this event are Bermuda Bowl for the open category, the Venice Cup for women & d'Orsi Seniors Bowl for players aged 60 and above.

Countdown begins for India's 1st space observatory

The 50-hour long countdown for Astrosat, India's first dedicated astronomy satellite began this morning at 8am.

The ISRO website says Mission Readiness Review (MRR) committee and Launch Authorisation Board (LAB) have cleared the 50-hour countdown, which began today.

Astrosat, India's first space observatory, will fly to its orbit 650km from Earth, on board a Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C30) that lifts off from the Sriharikota spaceport at 10am on Monday.

Among its assignments, the 1,153kg Astrosat would look at regions in the universe where stars take birth, and also at black holes.

The main objectives of Astrosat are to understand high-energy processes in binary systems containing neutron stars and black holes; estimate magnetic fields of neutron stars; study star birth regions and high-energy processes in star systems beyond our galaxy; detect briefly bright X-ray sources in the sky; and perform a limited deep-field survey of the universe in the ultraviolet region.

The Monday launch also marks Isro's first commercial launch of four US nano satellites. The Lemur satellites from Spire Global are non-visual remote sensing satellite for maritime vessel tracking.

PSLV-C30 will also carry Lapan-2, a microsatellite from Indonesia and NLS-14, a nanosatellite from Canada, which will also be used for maritime surveillance.